Peyton Jones Headed to AHL

Peyton Jones, who started in goal for Penn State and before that Holy Ghost Pep, has agreed to a two-year, one-way contract with the American Hockey League’s Colorado Eagles, beginning with the 2020-21 season. The team announced the signing Monday afternoon.

Colorado was granted membership as an expansion team in the AHL beginning with the 2018-19 season and is the affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche.

“We are extremely happy for Peyton,” mentioned head coach Guy Gadowsky. “Through an incredible level of commitment to improving every day as an athlete and a student, Peyton has done so much for the success of our hockey program and has set standards that we hope are lived up to for many years to come. Congratulations to Peyton, we are excited to see his future successes.”

Jones jumped right into the starting role between the pipes as a freshman becoming the program’s first-ever everyday goalie following four years where goalies saw split time in Hockey Valley. The Langhorne, Pennsylvania native seized the opportunity and never looked back graduating from Penn State with 14 program records.

Jones, Penn State’s all-time wins leader, bookended his time as a Nittany Lion with victories in his first and last games at Pegula Ice Arena. He registered a 76-44-11 career record including a single-season record 23 during his freshman campaign where he was named the Big Ten Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player as the Nittany Lions captured their first-ever tournament title. His 42 career Big Ten victories are also a conference standard.

The senior is the Penn State career leader for games played and games started by a goalie with 133 for his career as well as leading in minutes (7866:20), saves (3,685) and points/assists by a goalie with eight. Along with his single-season program record for wins, Jones also holds single-season standards in games started (36), saves (983), points/assists (4) and shutouts (2).

During his final season in Hockey Valley this past year, Jones registered career-highs with a .919 save percentage, ranking fourth in the Big Ten and 21st nationally, to go along with a 2.60 goals against average while posting a 18-9-3 record and leading the Nittany Lions to their first-ever Big Ten regular-season championship. Jones’ .919 save percentage and 2.60 goals against average are both the second-best single-season marks in program history.

“Penn State has prepared me well for my pro hockey career,” mentioned Jones. “The coaching staff has done a great job with getting me stronger and ready for the next level off the ice while on the ice I was fortunate enough to have some extremely talented teammates who challenged me to be my best every day.”

Gump Whiteside coached Jones at Holy Ghost where Jones had a presence about him even as a freshman and even earlier when Jones was playing at the middle-school level.

Whiteside said Jones’s success could be attributed to his mental discipline and work ethic as well as his physical abilities. “Making it in the AHL, at a high level, is tough for a goaltender. It’s a little easier for forwards and defensemen. That just goes to show you about his work ethic.”

Holy Ghost Prep 7, Malvern Prep 4

BRISTOL— Winning hockey games is much easier if a team starts out three goals to the good. That’s what happened to Holy Ghost Prep Wednesday afternoon.

The Firebirds scored three first-period goals in span of just under eight minutes and went on to a 7-4 Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference win at Hatfield Ice.
Byron Hartley scored four goals for the Firebirds, who improved to 7-3 overall and 2-2 in the APAC.

It was a big win for Holy Ghost Prep on a number of levels. It was the Firebirds’ first start since reaching the semifinals of the National Scholastic Invitational Showcase cover the weekend. It was also the first meeting between the two schools since the Friars (3-4, 2-2-0-1 in the APAC) scored four times in the third period to post a 5-4 win on November 11.

“This was huge win,” Hartley said, “this was a statement win that the first game was just a fluke. We have lines one through four that are able to score and play defense. We’re very happy with ourselves but we’re not done yet.”

Holy Ghost Prep’s number-one line, Hartley, Evan Mudrick, and Anthony Sparo, took on much of the offensive load. Together the trio accumulated 13 points. Hartley had two assists to go with his four goals. Mudrick provided two goals and two assists while Sparo contributed three assists.

Hartley got things started at the 3:25 mark of the opening period with help from Mudrick and Dan Behry before making it a 2-0 game by himself just 16 seconds later. Mudrick scored off assists from his two linemates at 11:23 to give his team a three-goal lead.

After Brady Baesher made it 4-0 3:32 into the second frame, the Friars got on the board with goals from Jack Constabile and Matt Harris to make it a 4-2 game with 4:05 left in the period.

Malvern Prep’s Jack Constabile (in blue) and Holy Ghost Prep’s Byron Hartley (in white) take a faceoff in Wednesday’s APAC game. Photo by Gracie Cleveland.

But Hartley completed his hat trick 4:09 into the third and his team went on to score two additional goals to put the game out of reach.

““It’s never good when a team goes down 3-0,” said Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan. “We’ve been put in that position a lot this year and it’s hard to come out of it. It was nice to see our boys get a couple in response, but It’s hard to win games when you get put in hole like that.”

Junior Bobby Baehser got the win in goal.

“He played great,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside. Booby Baehser is a great teammate, and just a solid effort tonight between the pipes.”

Malvern Prep 0 2 2—4

Holy Ghost Prep 3 1 3—7

First-period goals: Byron Hartley (HGP) from Evan Mudrick and E.J. Pohl, 3:25; Hartley (HGP) unassisted, 3:41; Mudrick (HGP) from Hartley and Anthony Sparo, 11:23.

Second-period goals: Brady Baehser (HGP) from Colin Moore, 3:32; Jack Constabile (MP) from Quinn Dougherty, 4:05; Matt Harris (MP) from Constabile, 11:55.

Third-period goals: Hartley (HGP) from Mudrick and Sparo, 4:09; Kyle Dorman (MP) from Constabile, 6:19; Mudrick (HGP) from Hartley and Sparo; Harrison Campbell (MP) unassisted, 15:10; Harley (HGP) unassisted, 15:49 (pp).

Shots: Malvern Prep 22, Holy Ghost Prep 30; Saves: Anthony Perti (MP) 23, Bobby Baeher (HGP) 18.

The Grundy Skate Shop is a full-service hockey pro shop inside the Grundy Arena, offering a great selection of equipment, brands and various services. We do a range of repairs as well as offer custom hockey jerseys. Owner Bill Keyser, has over 25 years experience in the industry and specializes in skate sharpening, including profiling. Please visit our Facebook page or stop in and check us out!

Other Wednesday scores

C.B. West 4, Pennridge 3

Hatboro-Horsham 8, Wissahickon 2

Council Rock South 10, Souderton 0

Pennsbury vs. Quakertown

Neshamainy vs. William Tennent

St. Joseph’s Prep 3, Holy Ghost Prep 2

BRISTOL—St. Joseph’s Prep is making a habit of doing the little things right. The latest example was on display Friday night as the Hawks edged Holy Ghost Prep 3-2 in front of a large an energetic audience at Grundy Arena.

Austin Amato, Connor Burman, and Jimmy Craig all scored for the Hawks, who improved to 3-1 overall and 3-0-0-1 in the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference. The only blemish on the Hawks’ record is a shootout loss to La Salle and they took a point on that occasion. It has been an impressive start for a young team.

“We’ve got a lot of stuff to improve on,” said Prep coach David Giacomin, “but the one thing you can’t take away from them is the effort. When they start hustling and they get in your face, they create turnovers, they create anxiety for the opposition. That part of the game we’ve done really well.”

Amato and Burman scored off turnovers to give the Hawks a 2-0 first-period lead. Burman, a junior, credits his team’s work ethic for its fast start.

“It’s the hard work,” he said. “It’s the chemistry. “Everybody wants to be here. Everybody wants to win. We’ve just a really good group this year, it’s all coming together.”

Giacomin said Burman played a solid three periods Friday night. “When that kid is moving he sees the ice so well,” he said. “He’s low to the ground, he’s hard to push off the puck. When he puts together three periods like he did tonight, people notice him.”

Evan Mudrick scored a power-play goal for the Firebirds (2-2, 1-2 in the APAC) 3:48 into the second period to make it a one-goal game for a time but Craig answered with his own power-play goal at 14:57.

That goal proved to be the game winner because Michael Roman found the back of the net for the Firebirds 6:37 into the third frame when he beat Hawk netminder Andrew Custer.

Holy Ghost Prep couldn’t come up with the equalizer. But Gump Whiteside, the Firebirds’ coach took an abundance of positives out of the evening.

“I like how our boys responded in the third period,” he said. “It was unfortunate, we kind of had a slow start there, but I really liked how our guts responded. We’re a young team. We’re going to be good. We’re just working through a couple things right now but I really liked how we responded in the third.”

St. Joseph’s Prep sits atop the APAC standings with a 3-0-1 mark (10 points) but the balance among the four schools through the first weeks of the season has been striking to say the least.

“The league has so much parity,” Giacomin said.”Every game is going to be exciting I think this year.”

Whiteside sees things the same way. “It’s great competition every night,” he said. “Great sportsmanship every night. We battle, we compete hard, we want to get that ’W’ but it’s been great.”

St. Joseph’s Prep 2 1 0—3
Holy Ghost Prep 0 1 1—2
First-period goals: Austin Amato (HGP) from Paulo Colavita, 2:13; Connor Burman (SJP) from Jimmy Craig, 15:12
Second-period goals: Evan Mudrick (HGP) from Byron Hartley, 3:48 (pp); Craig (HGP) from MIchael Urbani, 14:03 (pp)
Third-period goal: Michael Roman (HGP) unassisted, 6:37
Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 19, Holy Ghost Prep 22; Saves: Andrew Custer (SJP) 20, Sean Joyce (HGP) 15

Holy Ghost 9, Father Judge 5

By Rick Woelfel

BRISTOL— Holy Ghost Prep didn’t play its best hockey Wednesday night. But the Firebirds did enough to advance in the Flyers Cup tournament.

Byron Hartley delivered a hat trick and Evan Mudrick and Colin Costello scored twice as the Firebirds downed Father Judge 9-5 in a Class AAA quarterfinal game at Grundy Arena.

Fourth-seeded Holy Ghost Prep (9-13) will face top-seeded LaSalle in next Thursday’s semifinals. Fifth-seeded Father Judge closes its campaign at 16-9.

The Firebirds built a 3-1 first-period lead on goals from Mudrick, Costello, and Eric Pohl. But Thomas Scannell and Kevin Rue scored goals for 90 seconds apart to tie the game 3-3 and, with 4:14 gone in the second period, it seemed as if the two teams were starting over from scratch.

The Firebirds regained the lead on Hartley’s first goal of the game at the 4:36 mark. They stayed in front the rest of the way but what may have been the key point in the occurred just over a minute later when the Crusaders’ Keith Wiercinski made a move on goal and collided with Firebird netminder Sean Joyce, knocking him to the ice, and sparking a scrum near the Firebirds’ net.

Wiercinski was accessed a minor penalty for charging plus an automatic 10-minute misconduct. Judge’s Cade McKee and Holy Ghost Prep’s Sean Marshall drew coincidental roughing minors while the Crusaders’ Owen Newhose, who had assisted on a goal earlier in the period, was hit with a game misconduct.

The net result of all this on the ice was the Firebirds had a two-minute power player and the Crusaders were without one of their top offensive for the balance of the game.

Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside saw the incident as a turning point in the game. “That was huge,” he said. “That could have gone either way. Our kids kept their composure and kept things in perspective. We were able to kind of calm the waters a bit and get settled back into the game.”

Hartley spoke of the importance of he and his teammates keeping their emotions in check.

“Sean played a big part in it,” he said. “You never want to see your starting goalie hurt. He told us “…Put a puck in the net and that’s how we’ll get them back.”

Costello extended his team’s lead to two goals when he scored from just inside the blue line just before the sounded to end the second period.

The two teams combined for six goals in the third period. Matt Ryan’s power-play goal with 3:47 remaining in regulation got Judge to within two at 7-5 before Hartley completed his hat trick by scoring into an empty net with 1:40 remaining. Cole Stevens finished the scoring 18 seconds later.

Father Judge 1 2 2—5

Holy Ghost Prep 3 2 4—9

First-period goals: Evan Mudrick (HGP) from Alex D’Angelo, 8:07; Colin Costello (HGP) from Byron Hartley and Luke Panepresso, 9:52; Sean Melso (FJ) from Michael Levush, 14:42 (pp); Eric Pohl (HGP) from D’Angelo and Jake Marek, 14:53.

Second-period goals: Thomas Scannell (FJ) from Matt Ryan and Owen Newhose, 2:44 (pp); Kevin Rue (FJ) from Robert Werner, 4:14; Hartley (HGP) from Panepresso, 4:36; Costello (HGP) unassisted, 15:59.

Third-period goals: Hartley (HGP) from Costello, 1:31; Remy Garant (FJ) from Collin Furey and Melso, 4:14; Mudrock (HGP) from Pohl, 5:21; Ryan (FJ) from Melso, 12:123 (pp); Hartley (HGP) from D’Angelo, 14:20 (en); Cole Stevens (HGP) from Panepress and Carlos Rodriguez, 14:38.

Shots: Father Judge 32, Holy Ghost Prep 40; Saves: Colin McKee (FJ 31. Sean Joyce (HGP) 27

The Grundy Skate Shop is a full service hockey pro shop inside the Grundy Arena, offering a great selection of equipment, brands and various services. We do a range of repairs as well as offer custom hockey jerseys. We recently celebrated our 5th year at the shop but owner, Bill Keyser, has over 25 years experience in the industry and specializes in skate sharpening, including profiling. Please visit our Facebook page or stop in and check us out!

LaSalle 6, Holy Ghost Prep 3

By Rick Woelfel

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP— All season long, LaSalle has shown the ability to score in bunches. That talent was on display Wednesday afternoon against Holy Ghost Prep in the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference championship game. The Explorers scored four second-period goals in a span of 6 minutes, 7 seconds and went on to a 5-2 win over the Firebirds to claim the first-ever Founders Cup in front of an energized audience at Hatfield Ice.

“I’m feeling really excited right now,” said Brandon Leer, one of LaSalle’s captains. “The past four years I’ve been here, this is my first championship … It feels really good right now.”

The two teams played the first period on even terms.

The Firebirds (8-13) started the scoring at the 3:12 mark when Alex D’Angelo sent a pass down the middle of the ice from deep on the left side of his own zone. E.J. Pohl collected the puck in full stride and went up the middle to beat LaSalle goaltender Aidan McCabe.

Nathan Benner tied the game for the Explorers (20-6) with two seconds left in the opening session from midway between the faceoff circles.

Holy Ghost Prep took a 2-1 lead 5:59 into the second period when he tipped in D’Angelo’s shot from the high slot.

But then the Explorers exploded. Fabrizzio Mazzarelli, Sam Lipkin, Jan Olenginski, and Daniel Sambucco all scored goals during the barrage and LaSalle found itself up 5-2 with 1:23 left in the period.

“I think we started clicking a little bit better,” said LaSalle coach Wally Meuhlbronner. “I don’t know that all the lines were on the same page to start with but once we started clicking, we were going to the net hard.”

That five different players scored the Explorers’ first five goals was a testament to the team’s scoring balance. “I think we’re fortunate,” Muehlbronner said, “and they definitely stepped up tonight. It was good to see.”

D’Angelo scored a power-play goal for the Firebirds with 6:39 left in regulation but Benner answered for the Explorers 61 seconds later.

Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside lamented his team’s inability to sustain its early momentum. “I thought we played well the first and third periods,” he said, “and that stretch in the second period our wheels fell off a little bit and they took advantage of our mistakes. Credit to them, Wally and the boys. “But we’ll see them again.”

The Flyers Cup is still ahead but the APAC officially completed its inaugural season on Wednesday. Leer noted the caliber of play was first rate all year season long. “Every team out here (including Malvern Prep and St. Joseph’s Prep was outstanding,” he said. “There was not one game where we felt as if we completely dominate the opponent. Each game we had was very close and then either we outworked the opponent and made the gap grow bigger or they backed down, which made our job a lot easier.”

Notes: LaSalle had a 34-26 edge in shots. All four APAC teams will compete in the Class AAA Flyers Cup. LaSalle is the top seed and had a first-round bye. Malvern Prep is seeded second, Holy Ghost Prep fifth, and St. Joseph’s Prep sixth.

Holy Ghost Prep 1 1 1—3

LaSalle 1 4 1—6

First-period goals: EJ. Pohl (HGP) from Alex D’Angelo, 3:12; Nathan Benner (L) from Michael Casey and Sam Lipkin, 15:58.

Second-period goals: Evan Mudrick (HGP) from D’Angelo, 5:59; Fabrizzio Mazzarelli (L) from Jan Olenginski and Lipkin, 8:30 (pp); Lipkin (L) from Casey and Zach Baker, 9:10 (sh); Olenginski (L) unassisted, 11:06; Daniel Sambuco (L) unassisted, 14:37.

Third-period goals: Alex D’Angelo (HGP) from Eric Mark and Midrick, 9:21 (pp); Benner L) from Colin Kreisler and Ryan Ferry, 10:22.

Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 26, LaSalle 34; Saves: Sean Joyce (HGP) 28, Aidan McCabe (L) 23

LaSalle 6, Holy Ghost Prep 3

By Rick Woelfel

BRISTOL— On the surface, there wasn’t a lot at stake when LaSalle and Holy Ghost Prep took the ice at Grundy Arena Monday afternoon. The Explorers had already clinched the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference’s regular-season title.

But no meeting on the ice between the two longtime rivals can ever be classified as routine. The intensity level was as high as ever over the course of LaSalle’s 6-3 win.

“It’s a great rivalry game,” said LaSalle coach Wally Meuhlbronner. “It has been for years.”

Special teams played a significant role in this occasion, particularly in the early going. Referee Laura White tolerated no nonsense and called six penalties in the first period. Three of them led to power-play goals.

Colin Costello got things started when he scored for the Firebirds (7-12, 1-8 in the APAC with three losses in overtime or a shootout) off a left-wing faceoff. Michael Casey tied the game for LaSalle (18-6, 9-0 with one win in overtime) at 10:05 but Richard Spore put Holy Ghost Prep back in front at 11:46 when he beat Explorer netminder Aidan McCabe off a nifty feed from Alex D’Angelo.

Fabrizzio Mazzarelli tied the game for a second time when he scored for LaSalle on yet another power-play situation 3:01 into the second period.

Some three minutes later McCabe denied the Firebirds’ Byron Hartley on a two-on-none breakaway and momentum began to shift in LaSalle’s direction, David Brunner scored on a breakaway of his own off a turnover at 11:54 to give his team the lead.

The Firebirds battled through a stretch that found then playing two men short for 89 seconds and it was still a one-goal game after 32 minutes.

But Casey (on a power play) and Bryan Evans scored to make it a 5-2 game 3:57 into the third period to put the Explorers firmly in command. The Firebirds’ Evan Mudrick and LaSalle’s Daniel Sambuco traded goals to complete the scoring.

The temperature of the game cooled off a bit after the frenzied start; there were six penalties called over the last two periods.

“We were a little frustrated in the beginning,” said LaSalle captain Zach Baker, a senior defenseman. “Coach had to calm us down. Everyone was contained in the locker room in between (after the second period). In the first we were a little rattled, off our game, but ever since the end of the first we kind of stuck to our normal game plan and got things going.”

If you’re counting, five of the nine goals in the game came on power plays, including three of LaSalle’s six.

“I thought we did some good things early on,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside, “but you’ve just got to be disciplined and stay out of the box. We told them what was going to happen but unfortunately, we just couldn’t get it done today.”

LaSalle (18-8, 9-0, 1 in OT)

HGP 7-12, 1-8, 3 losses in OT)

LaSalle 1 2 3—6

Holy Ghost Prep 2 0 1—3

First-period goals: Colin Costello (HGP) from Alex D’Angelo and Andrew Serafin, 7:38 (pp); Michael Casey (L) from Daniel Sambuco and Sam Lipkin, 10:05 (pp); Richard Spohr (HGP) from D’Angelo, 11:46 (pp).

Second-period goals: Fabrizzio Mazzarelli (L) from Lipkin and Jan Olenginski, 11:54; David Brunner (L) unassisted, 11:54.

Third-period goals: Casey (L) from Lipkin, 2:10 (pp); Bryan Evans (L) from Sean Keaveny, 3:57; Evan Mudrick (HGP) unassisted, 6:47; Daniel Sambuco (L) from Lipkin, 11:49.

Shots: LaSalle 28, Holy Ghost Prep 27; Saves: Aidan McCabe (L) 24, Sean Joyce (HGP) 22

St. Joseph’s Prep Edges Holy Ghost Prep 3-2 in Shootout

By Rick Woelfel

BRISTOL— St. Joseph’s Prep climbed off the canvas Friday night. Down 2-0 at the start of the third period, the Hawks scored twice to force overtime before prevailing over Holy Ghost Prep 3-2 in a shootout at Grundy Arena in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference game.

Austin Amato, the first player to shoot in the best-of-three shootout, was the only player to find the back of the net, by beating Firerbird netminder Sean Joyce low on the stick side.

But he and his mates worked hard to get to that point.

The first period belonged to Holy Ghost Prep. Jack Kelly and Andrew Serafin scored goals to give the Firebirds (4-6, 0-5 in the APAC) a 2-0 lead.

There was no scoring in the middle period but the Firebirds to had the upper hand before getting a big opportunity just after the buzzer when the Hawks’ Jared Schaal drew a double minor plus a misconduct, allowing the Firebirds to start the third period with a four-minute power play on fresh ice. But the hosts couldn’t capitalize and the momentum shifted after Schaal left the penalty box.

Nicholas Corrado scored a power-play goal off a goal-mouth scramble at the 5:08 mark before Owen Moke tied the game at 11:02 to draw the Hawks (4-4, 2-2 APAC) even.

“It seems this is the way we’ve been playing,” said St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin. “We win won, we lose one. We come back and play two terrible periods or one terrible period and then all of a sudden find the fire and start being aggressive.”

The Firebirds’ inability to capitalize on their four-minute power play started their downhill slide. “That really hurt us,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside. “We get that ice cut and that fresh sheet of ice and then come out their with that four-minute power play and couldn’t generate some offense. “They shut us down there. I don’t think we played with enough speed and enough momentum.”

St. Joseph’s Prep dominated the five-minute NHL-style three-on-three overtime period. Joyce made four big saves to send the game to the shootout. “He’s rock solid back there,” Whiteside said.

Hawk goaltender Dan McGill was impenetrable in the extra period, stopping shots from Thomas McNulty, Serafin, and Colin Costello while Joyce denied Schaal and Evan Cassidy.

McGill noted that the Hawks had renewed energy when they took the ice in the third period. “We came back out with a great mindset,” he said. We were looking for the win.

The Hawks outshot the Firebirds 36-24, but the margin was 32-14 over the last two periods and overtime.
St. Joseph’s Prep 0 0 2 0—2*
Holy Ghost Prep 2 0 0—2
First-period goals: Jack Kelly (HGP) from Colin Costello, 7:43; Andrew Serafin (HGP) unassisted, 12:46.
Third-period goals: Nicholas Corrado (SJP) unassisted, 5:08 (pp); Owen Moke (HGP) from Michael Urbani and Fran Verratti, 11:02
Shootout goal: Austin Amato (SJP) first round
Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 36, Holy Ghost Prep 24; Saves; Dan McGill (SJP) 22; Sean Joyce (HGP) 34.

LaSalle Beats Holy Ghost Prep

Friday night marked the beginning of a new era in scholastic hockey in the Delaware Valley. At 7:38 p.m. the referee dropped the puck to begin the matchup between LaSalle and Holy Ghost Prep, the inaugural game of the new Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference.
A large, emotionally engaged crowd was on hand at Grundy Arena for the event.

The players on both sides rose to the occasion, particularly the Explorers, who got two goals from sophomore Sam Lipkin on the way to a 5-1 win.

Lipkin scored the first goal in APAC history at the 9:15 mark of the first period, beating Firebird netminder Sean Joyce. Brandon Leer made it a 2-0 game on a power-play goal at 13:19.

Lipkin said the Explorers (3-0 overall) were buoyed by their quick start. “Any game in this league can be important,” he said. “I think we just played really good overall.”

The Firebirds (0-1) hurt themselves in the first period by taking four minor penalties; Leer’ goal came while they were two men short.

“You don’t want to work on your penalty kill all that much in the first period,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside. “But we battled through, we got a couple scrapes and a couple bruises from it, but it’s a learning experience.”

It took the Firebirds just 10 seconds to respond to Leer’s goal. Byron Hartley scored to make it a one-goal game.

Michael Casey extended LaSalle’s lead when he scored at 9:54 of the middle period before Lipkin and Daniel Sumbuco scored goals in the third. The line featuring Lipkin, Casey, and Sambuco combined for nine points.

“We’re missing some key guys tonight (because of club commitments),” said LaSalle coach Wally Meuhlbronner, “so we needed a good push out of that top line that we had and then I think the other two lines did a great job. The fast start helped us and helped us settle in a little bit too.”

Whiteside looked at Friday’s game as a learning experience for his young team, which also had some players away on club duty.

“I was really happy with our group,” he said. “If you lose 10 seniors, it’s tough, but I love the makeup of our team. We’re going to be a good team.”

Notes: LaSalle had a 33-19 edge in shots. All APAC games will have a winner. If a game is tied after 48 minutes of regulation, a five-minute overtime will be played followed by a shootout if needed. The game was officiated by one referee and two linesmen.

LaSalle 2 1 2—5

Holy Ghost Prep 1 0 0—1

First-period goals: Sam Lipkin (L) from Daniel Sambuco and Michael Casey, 9:15; Brandon Leer (L) from Ryan Ferry and Andrew Budzynski, 13:19 (pp); Byron Hartley (HGP) from Alex D’Angelo, 13;29 (sh).

Second-period goal: Michael Casey (L) from Sambuco and Lipkin, 9:54.

Third-period goals: Lipkin (L) from Sambuco and Casey, 6:23; Sambuco L) unassisted, 14:58.

Shots: LaSalle 33, Holy Ghost Prep 19; saves: Aidan McCabe (L) 18; Sean Joyce (HGP) 28.

Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference Previews

The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference is set to kick off it’s inaugural season this week.

Here is a look at all four teams.

St. Joseph’s Prep

Head coach: David Giacomin (sixth season)

Last year: 26-4-1; Flyers Cup and Pennsylvania state Class 3A champions

Key players: Sr. Troy Stefano (GK); Sr. Dan McGill (GK); Sr. Nick Ciampitti (D); Sr. Nick Corrado (D); Jr. Mike Urbani (D); Sr. Evan Cassidy (F); Sr. Owen Kelly (F); Sr. Austin Amato (F)

Outlook: The Hawks lost their top two lines from last year to graduation so some retooling will likely be necessary. But this should still be a formidable group.

“We hope to be a speed driven team that will play hard in all three zones,” Giacomin says. “It probably will take time to see who we truly will be. Depth will play a big role this year.”

Holy Ghost Prep

Coach: Gump Whiteside (10^th season)

Last year: 19-6

Key players: Jr. Sean Joyce (GK); Sr. Tom McNulty (D); Sr. Andrew Serafin (D); Sr. Alex D’Angelo (F); So. E.J. Pohl (F); So. Evan Murdick (F)

Outlook: The Firebirds feature a blend of senior leadership and young talent after reaching the Flyers Cup finals a year ago. Joyce, a first-year starter in goal, will be a key to this team’s success.

LaSalle

Coach: Wally Muehlbronner (21^st season)

Last year: 14-10

Key players: Jr. Aidan McCabe (GK); Sr. Zach Baker (D)

Outlook: The Explorers will likely field the most experienced team in the league; 15 players return from what was a young team a year ago. Muehlbronner likes the balance in his lineup. Goaltender McCabe will be a lynchpin.

Malvern Prep

Coach: Dave Dorman (fifth season)

Last year: 13-7-1

Key players: Sr. Dan Dougherty (GK); So. Chris Blango (D); So. Jack Constabile (D); Sr. Charlie Andress (F); Sr. Nick Martino (F); So. Kenny Connors (F); Sr. Kyle Washkalavitch (F); So. Ryan Sambuco (F)

Outlook: A young Friars squad reached the Flyers Cup semifinals a year ago; nine freshmen saw varsity time last year; a number of those returnees are expected to fill key roles this season. Dougherty offers a veteran presence in goal.

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New PA Prep Hockey League Forming

Some of the most prominent scholastic ice hockey programs in the Philadelphia area are aligning to form a new conference.

Holy Ghost Prep, LaSalle, St. Joseph’s Prep, and Malvern Prep will compete against one another this coming season.

The four schools are in different leagues in other sports. Holy Ghost Prep belongs to the Bicentennial Athletic League, St. Joseph’s Prep and LaSalle to the Philadelphia Catholic League, and Malvern Prep to the InterAc League.

The four schools will play each other three times each over the course of the season. A source told Hockey Happenings that plans call for each team to play six of its nine conference games in the afternoon, the other three at night. The regular season will be followed by a pair of one-game semifinals and a one-game final.

The idea behind the new league was to form a conference composed entirely of schools where ice hockey is considered a full-fledged varsity sport. Veteran Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside notes that all four member schools fit hockey into their athletic and academic structures.

“I think that stems from the leadership at these schools,” he said.
All four schools involved in the alliance have longstanding hockey traditions. LaSalle has won 10 Flyers Cup titles, nine in Class 3A and one in Class 2A. Malvern Prep has won seven Cups, all in Class 3A. Holy Ghost Prep has won three Class 3A Flyers Cup titles to go with one in Class 2A while St. Joseph’s Prep claimed its first Flyers Cup title when it won the Class 3A title this past March.

The four schools will remain part of the Flyers Cup structure where will compete in Class 3A but will not be aligned with the Suburban High School Hockey League or the Intercounty Scholastic Hockey League. for scheduling purposes

Jim Britt, who has had a long association with amateur hockey, will serve as commissioner of what is expected to be known as the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference.